Zimbabwe seal last-ball finish to go 1-0 up

In a thrilling match, Zimbabwe sealed a 4-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first T20I of the series, thanks to a vital 13-ball 16 not out from Tashinga Musekiwa. The hosts were indebted to Musekiwa's starring cameo to get over the line in a last-ball finish.

Naveen-ul-Haq began the second innings with a maiden to Brian Bennett and bagged the wicket of Tadiwanashe Marumani in his next over. Bennett and Dion Myers scored three fours between them in the powerplay, but Zimbabwe's progress was slow as the hosts got only 33 in the first six overs.

Bennett and Myers began to accelerate in the second half, with the latter striking a six off Rashid Khan. However, their stand ended when Myers got a top-edge off Nabi. The 15th over was eventful, with Naveen over-stepping once and bowling nine wides in a 13-ball over.

The equation came down to 28 off 24 as Ryan Burl hit a six off Nabi in the 16th. But a double-wicket final over from Rashid, in which he accounted for Bennett and Burl, left Zimbabwe needing 25 off the last three overs. Musekiwa played a crucial role in the final over, scoring a four followed by two couples to level the scores.

He then struck the winning single off the last ball to power the hosts to an early lead in the series. Earlier, Afghanistan suffered early setbacks, losing four wickets inside the powerplay. However, Karim Janat and Mohammad Nabi's partnership helped Afghanistan past 100 in the 16th over.

The biggest over of the innings came in the 17th as Nabi took the attack to Gwandu, striking a six and three fours in a 20-run over. However, the total proved insufficient in the end, as Zimbabwe sealed a 4-wicket win.

Brief scores:

• Afghanistan: 144/6 in 20 overs (Karim Janat 54*, Mohammad Nabi 44; Richard Ngarava 3-28)
• Zimbabwe: 145/6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 49, Dion Myers 32; Naveen-ul-Haq 3-33)